Into the Fire

     The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight." 

Luke 16:14-15 (NIV) 

Here are five random questions for you: 

What five things are a must for you before you leave your house? 

What do you expect from the people you call your friends?

What kinds of music do you prefer?

What do you consider your two best character traits? 

What is one of your favorite TV series – past or present? 

Father, thank you for all the beauty, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. We will never deserve you, Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for your patience and constant comfort. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

This is the 2004 Cobra Terminator of which Ford only made so many. Their production number is engraved right in front of the gear shift console. This is the year, car, and color of my protagonist's "other" car in my almost finished (!) WIP. It's a beauty and very fast!

Father, you give gifts and talents galore to everyone. You're slow to anger and abounding in love. You cause the rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous. Your thoughts are far above our own. You are magnificent. Thank you is never enough. May I honor you in all I do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

I think it's time for a short excerpt (a "tease" perhaps) from the nearly finished WIP (work-in-progress). What do you think? The title: Then . . . you 

"He's a recluse . . . She's seeking refuge" 

From Chapter 5

Walking into the kitchen, she observed him standing over the stove, maneuvering eggs around in a pan. Dressed in black Levis without rips and another black long-sleeved T-shirt with a depiction of a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag on the back, he asked, “Hungry?” without turning around.

     “I didn’t think I was until I smelled your cooking. Now I am,” she said. “What can I do?”

     “Get us something to drink. I’ll take a glass of milk. You help yourself to whatever you want. Are you a coffee or tea drinker?”

     “Both actually, but coffee in the morning usually does it for me.”

     “I’m out right now which doesn’t happen very often. We’ll stop on the way at a stand. That okay?” He turned to look at her then.

     “You shaved your beard off,” she said without thinking, noticing the moustache remained.

     With his free hand, he rubbed his face. “Yeah, I was being lazy. Feels better this way.” He turned off the burners, grabbed the biscuits out of the oven and tilted them into a towel-lined basket. He set them and the butter on the island along with two kinds of jam he snatched from the fridge and a container of honey.

     “Here ya go,” he said, handing her a plate. He’d already set out silverware on a napkin.

     She'd poured him a glass of milk, setting it on the island and selected a small bottle of orange juice.

     “This looks delicious.”

     “Glad you think so,” he said, taking a bite of bacon. “Help yourself.”

     She buttered a warm biscuit and dabbed some honey on it, savored the taste. She put a small portion of scrambled eggs on her plate and took a strip of bacon. “This is a treat, Stone. It’s rare when I eat a real breakfast. Thank you.”

     “You’re welcome. I’m a breakfast junkie.” He shook some green Tabasco on his eggs. “Probably because I tend to eat early in the evening but rarely get to bed early. So I wake up hungry.” He stopped eating and talking and looked at her. Serious.

     “What?” she said, intimidated.

     “It’s weird talking to you. No one’s ever here. I’m surprised we’ve had a conversation.”

     “Really? You seem so easy to talk to. I wouldn’t normally admit to just anyone all the stuff I said to you last night. I mean, I did of course owe you an explanation for the intrusion, but I could’ve opted to tidy it up a bit, I guess. That didn’t even occur to me. I do apologize for being such a wreck.” She felt the color heat her face.

     He kept his eyes on her and took another bite of eggs. His stare did tend to unnerve her, but she did her best to hold his gaze.

     “Your eyes are green,” he said.

     “You walk with a limp. Your right leg. It’s permanent. Some atrophy from a serious injury.”

     “Shattered the femur. Enemy sniper. He missed his target. Should’ve been my head. Hardware keeps it together.”

     Her professionalism kicked in. “Please understand how I say this. A massage could help you. And by that, I mean it could give your musculature some stimulus to increase the circulation, the blood flow, plus there are other specific techniques which could relieve pressure areas. I would love to help you.”

     Her sincerity and business-like delivery impressed him, but she had no idea what her words actually said to him. He kept his eyes focused on her, trying not to watch her lips speaking them. He almost missed when the words ended. He continued to look her in the eyes for an extra couple of moments.

     He finished his nearly full glass of milk in one large, quick gulp. “Understand how I say this: under the circumstances it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. But, thank you.” He said it quieter than he normally spoke and with a respectful consideration to his tone.

     His look once again unnerved her while the flame consumed her entire face. She hurried and collected their plates and rinsed them in the sink.

     “Anything else you need to do before we go get your car?”

     “Brush my teeth again and I’m ready.”

Father, thank you is never enough for the inspiration and direction you take me in my life, my writing, my "voice". I'm always in awe of you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

              One of the great ones from Sam and Dave. 

Father, thank you for your musicians. Music is a part of who you are. Thank you for those who honor you with their music and please reach those who have yet to realize from whom their talents come. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Gone Bad (a novella) by JB Turner is the latest in the Jon Reznick Series. 

When former Delta-operator Hunter Cain, who served with Jon Reznick, somehow manages to escape from Leavenworth, FBI Assistant Director Martha Meyerstein calls in Jon Reznick (who's just received a job offer from a friend) to help determine who organized the breakout and who besides Cain is in charge. 

Jon fought beside Cain, and he knows Cain is capable of anything, an intelligent with psychopathic tendencies trained killer. Something's going down, and the FBI and Jon have yet to figure it out even though it feels like it's imminent. They learn his two associates are Aryan Brotherhood die-hards and committed to following Cain. Reznick is his usual reckless self without a concern for the FBI's protocols. If they want answers, Jon is going to have to play dirty to get them. And he does – play dirty and gets answers.

It comes down to Meyerstein taking a stand with her boss and Homeland Security to keep Reznick involved, but thanks to Jon's insistence on an action the FBI hasn't considered, they ascertain what Cain and his buddies are up to and it's a bold endeavor which will be critical. 

If you like your thrillers to have a bold former spec ops hero who has little regard for law and order when it comes down to dire circumstances, cold-blooded killers who are psychopaths at heart, don't mind excessive profanity, and want the story to contain critical action to right the wrongs, the Jon Reznick Series is for you. 

Father, you know hearts and minds. You are the giver of gifts and talents. Please continue to bless JB with what he needs to keep creating. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

"Do not touch my anointed ones; 

   do my prophets no harm." 

Psalm 105:15 (NIV) 

Chad always dreamed of owning and operating his own coffee shop. When he met the coffee-hating, cocoa-loving Jenn, he made it his mission to convert her to coffee-loving, but instead she stuck to her favorite and he stuck to calling her Cocoa, and they fell in love. Prior to meeting Chad, she'd been engaged to Thomas, serious, determined, nice guy, the safe one. 

Now several years later, Chad's in prison for the murder of his beloved mentor, a murder he did not commit, and Thomas is Chad's lawyer seeking after every possibility to prove his innocence. 

Chad's and Jen's twins, their son Jason and daughter Chloe, were 10 yrs. old when their dad was imprisoned, making Jen essentially a single mom. Having exhausted every financial means to prove his innocence, they live with Jen's parents which isn't helping Jen's state of mind. 

When Jen takes the kids out for a drive to determine where they might move, they happen upon an old building with such amazing charm – at least to Jen and Chloe – that they decide to take a closer look in this tiny town that is sporting an empty "downtown" of abandoned former businesses but with new sprawling developments popping up in the near vicinity. With great imagination and gut-level renovation, they convert the old bar to Chad's Choco-Latte, fulfilling his long-ago dream. Without him. 

"Brenda S. Anderson writes authentic, gritty, life-affirming fiction that shows God at work in people’s messy lives." Her by-line gives a perfect description of the family in this story who fight through the tearing away of the husband and father, forcing changes on each of them as individuals that prove to be more difficult than any of them can imagine. 

As the possibility for his release presents itself, when evidence surfaces that definitely points to another killer, Chad can't wait to be free, but real freedom for him and his family seems to be a mirage and possibly not attainable. 

Brenda knows that this genre is not my favorite. She and one other are the only authors I read in this genre. Having said that, I would give this novel 5 stars for its truly authentic portrayal of all the facets of a family trying to cope with the stigma of having the head of their household convicted of and incarcerated for a crime he truly did not commit. Brenda has done her homework/research and this story speaks to the heartbreak, challenges at every level, the real pain and estrangement from each other and supposed friends and community. The soul-robbing experience of enduring prison while your family trudges on without you is so viscerally captured as is the aftermath of that experience. She's to be commended for painting the vivid picture of how their Christian faith is attacked and bruised through their personal and corporate ordeals and the gut-wrenching, often hopeless struggles each of them faces.  

Kudos to Brenda's daughter, Sarah, for her contributions in making the coffee and cocoa drinks reality based with creative touches.

Definitely a real read. 

Father, you know Brenda inside and out. You know her personal trials. Please, Lord, give her what she needs to triumph in every way during this time as only you can do. And raise up more stories just for her to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Our youngest son with our retired Thoroughbred "Honor an Eagle" out in the pasture at our former home. Eagle's in heaven and Joseph is many years older now. We love this picture of them both. 

Father, thank you for guarding Joseph since conception. Please continue to bless his life lived for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

                            What are you reading? 

Father, thank you for authors, for writing, for the wonders of creating. Every good and perfect gift comes down from you. Thank you for all of them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.